...Speaking to a conservative audience in 2009, Sammon boasted that he had lied repeatedly during the closing days of the 2008 presidential campaign when he speculated on-air "about whether Barack Obama really advocated socialism."

"Last year, candidate Barack Obama stood on a sidewalk in Toledo, Ohio, and first let it slip to Joe the Plumber that he wanted to quote, 'spread the wealth around,' " said Sammon. "At that time, I have to admit, that I went on TV on Fox News and publicly engaged in what I guess was some rather mischievous speculation about whether Barack Obama really advocated socialism, a premise that privately I found rather far-fetched."

Indeed, in the weeks leading up to the 2008 election, Sammon -- then Fox's Washington deputy managing editor -- used his frequent appearances on the network to tie Obama to "Marxists" and "socialism." Sammon also pushed his Fox News colleagues to join in. He sent an email to staffers highlighting what he described as "Obama's references to socialism, liberalism, Marxism and Marxists" in his autobiography.

Sammon's "mischief" apparently earned him a promotion. In 2009, he became vice president of news and Washington managing editor -- the official overseeing Fox's supposedly credible political reporting.

Last year, sources with knowledge of the situation in Fox's Washington bureau told us that Sammon was using his new position to "slant" news coverage to the right. Those allegations were confirmed by a series of leaked emails in which Sammon pressured Fox's supposedly neutral journalists to adopt Republican talking points on health care reform; misrepresent scientific data in order to cast doubt on climate change; and distort an Obama speech in order to portray the president as soft on terrorism...